Saturday, January 22, 2011

Recommended for readers ages 11 to 17. Hey, I'm 44, and I really enjoyed it. My 14 year old got right in to it too.

Cole was a violent kid. He beat up Peter, causing permanent brain damage. His punishment was exile to a remote island off of Alaska. Peter was invited to be on the island with his. Yes, the same boy he beat up.

While on the island Cole learns a lot about himself and his heart. Being attacked by a spirit bear his perspective really changes.

Cole and Peter head back to the city after their time on the island. They are met with a high school that is full of violence, bullies, vandals, etc.

Cole and Peter are told to fight from their heart, not their fists. Besides, if they get in to a fight, they will go to jail. One group of 5 boys is especially hard on Peter. Being handicapped due to his beating makes him a prime target.

Together, the boys try to do things as close to how they did them on the island. Things like sitting in a store freezer to clear their minds. They bought used bowling balls and went to an abandoned building to throw them down the stairs.

It was at this building that they ran into an old homeless man. He never realy spoke to him. They were a little afraid of him. Throughout the story, this homeless man pops in to a lot of places where they are, and then disappears. They compare him to the spirit bear, in fact, at one point they see him lay something in the grass before he disappears. When they go to investigate they find it's a small carved statue of a bear.

When things go from bad to worse at their school....Peter gets beat up by a gang in the school bathroom, and one girl that is constantly being called a slut commits suicide.....Cole takes a stand with the principal and tells her that things must change.

She agrees, no longer afraid of losing her job, that the students come first. They put together some things and the students seem to warm up to the ideas. One of the ideas is to change the school mascot from the Raging Bulldogs to The Spirit Bear.

Changing the school mascot becomes a fight for Cole as he has to take on the school board and angry parents. In the end he does get the approval for the change.

Wondering what ever came about with the homeless man? I was wondering too as the book came to an end. It's a nice surprise ending with that (and no, I'm not telling).

I hope I've told you enough about the book to spark an interest in reading it. It's a touching tale of making the world a better place, one person at a time. This is where I agree with the recommended reading for ages 11-17. I'm not sure that it shouldn't be required school reading!

Welcome to Shop Hop Saturday, hosted by abitosunshine! Please click the button at the bottom of my post to join in and/or look around at what others are sharing.

I made myself a goal this week to complete 2 fabric bags and to complete the current toothbrush rug I was working on. I did make that goal! I have 5 more fabric bags in the works and yesterday rounded up material to make 3 more! I'm in the bag business.

One of my other all time goals is to work at least a bit each day on my quilting. I've kept up with that goal. It will be awhile before I complete another quilt, but always in the works. I am wanting to try my hand at making some quilted table runners as well.In the mix of having 4 grandkids over last weekend I had lost my printed out paper on what I currently have listed at homeschoolbuy. I found the paper yesterday, so have worked some in there. It's still going to take me some time to go through pages and pages of listings and get what isn't currently listes re-listed. Yep, one of those kick yourself for not keeping up on because you have to work 10 times harder in the end. You can see what I currently have for sale here.

I will have a couple more bags listed by next Saturday in different patterns. I do have some pattern repeats to make as well as one bag that is already listed, but not complete yet. As I said...I'm in the bag business.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Welcome to WIP Wednesday. Click the button at the bottom of my post and join us in the fun. I love looking at what others are up to each week.

I'm trying to remain a busy little bee on my crafts. Currently I am sitting here cutting t-shirts in to rounds. I won't do anything with them for awhile yet, but I use the tops of the t-shirts for rags. I'm out of rags under my sink, but I also take them to church to use when I clean each week. However, when I am ready to start a rug with the t-shirts, most of what I need will already be cut and ready to use.I have been working more on the current toothbrush rug I am making. I have hopes of finishing it up and listing it in my etsy store by Saturday morning.

I did finish up ironing the material I have for my strip quilts. I also got more of it cut into strips. I'm amazed just how much material was in this bag I bought at a yard sale for just $1! The gal had it all rolled and pinned so a lot fit into that bag. That's a good thing. I'm going to just make as many squares as I can out of just that material and go from there. I didn't choose to take a photo of it this week.

I got my material all ironed, cut and pinned for my stack of fabric bags. So far all I have sewn are all of the handles. That way I can at least sit in front of the computer working on my other money making ventures while I turn and iron them. I am heading in next to work on sewing on some of the bags.

The book I am currently reading is Sorrowed Souls by Brenda Youngerman. It's a great read just as the last book by her was that I read. I will be having a book review of it on Saturday the 29th. I already have my book review ready for this coming Saturday.

I think that's all I can think of for this week, so it's time for me to hop over, share my link here and check out what others are up to this week.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Welcome to Mailbox Monday in conjunction with afrugalfriend.net. Please click the button at the bottom of my post and join us.

I had a good week this past week!

I have a photo, but only of some of the mail (this all came in on one day)Magazines:PeopleTimeSports IllustratedBloomsberg BusinessweekFamily FunEntertainment Weekly

Other mail:Sleep Kit from Tylenol--includes sleep mask, CD, guide & journal and coupons4 other pieces of hausernet mail$10 Check from Neilson Digital Voice (sweepstakes win)Max Perk CouponsLet My Spirit Live poster made by Ruthi Cox that I won in her blog giveawayCamel Snus couponsThe Idea book from The History ChannelTimed Release plant food packet and packet of Cosmos flower seeds from The Garden Club (no, not joining, but will enjoy the seeds)Coupon for free Athenos Greek strained nonfat yogurt and $1/2 coupon from Kraft First Taste.6 plug in adapter that I redeemed points for from National Consumer PanelMighty Dog dog kit (I haven't got to see this yet as it's still at my mom's house)

In my email:$8 paypal from beezag$40 paypal from gather$25 paypal from sidetick

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